Has the definition of a Luxury Vehicle changed?

Fan

The traditional view of a Luxury vehicle has been what Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear best put it, as, Look at the current S-Class, and in decades worth of time, those same features will trickle down to the mass/economy offerings of the car market.

Back when that was said, the S class was leading the way by means of its 5th gen w221 series. Now days the ground breaking features of the S-Class do not feel so special, dare I say exclusive. Mercedes have LED headlights and semi autonmous driving modes in its S class, but so does a basic toyota Corolla.

Has has the definition of what defines a Luxury brand changed, and has it changed due to the more rapid R&Ding, cheaper tech, etc etc?

Expert

Most of the features Mercedes and others have featured in the last 15 years have been enabled by computers, and computing power has gotten insanely cheap. I think as the features further flatten out you're going to see luxury brands shift more towards hand-made non-computerized things, like the Kiriko glass in the LS.

Connoisseur

Expert

In my view, a "luxury" vehicle always was, and always will be, about physical comfort and rich-looking surroundings.....soft ride, plush seats, soft-touch surfaces, rich-looking trim, precise control of the interior environment, etc..... In some cases, you can add power under the hood to that requirement. A luxury vehicle is not, IMO, a rolling supercomputer with a million different electronic systems and buttons/touch-screens.